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Saturday, August 25, 2007

BPL Week 4 Preview by Dan Leo

BPL Week 4 Preview by Dan Leo for World Football Commentaries.25/26 August 2007

With the logjam in the middle and the pre-season favorites losing points left and right, week 4 will indicate the need for the short-term fixes (the transfer windows ends Aug, 31) or highlight the long-term problems.

Sunderland vs. Liverpool - Roy Keane has spent ~ $50 million to ensure the survival for his newly promoted Sunderland but his team looked as if he spent 50 dollars, having lost to Wigan 3:0 in Game Day 3. It's his luck to run into an angry Liverpool team, coming off an unfairly lost win vs. Chelsea.

Prediction - Sunderland 1 Liverpool 3

Arsenal vs. Manchester City - Arsene Wenger's squad was lucky to win its first game with a 90th minute goal by Alexander Hleb but could only get a tie last week against Blackburn. It needs to win over a currently perfect Manchester City to keep pace ... with Manchester City, where Sven-Goran Eriksson is showing off his mettle after a disappointing spell in charge of England.

Prediction - Arsenal 2 ManCity 1

Aston Villa vs. Fulham - the unluckiest team so far (Fulham) meets the second unluckiest. Villa has been playing well but only earned a point off its first two matches. Fulham's been gritty but could have had at least 2 more points in the season where it was a strong candidate for relegation.

Prediction - Villa 3 Fulham 0

Bolton vs. Reading - With Sammy Lee's job hanging in the wind following the two losses, Bolton desperately needs a win ... bye, bye, Sammy. Reading is solid and always manages to hit above its talent level with the two consecutive time English Manager of the Year Steve Coppell.

Prediction - Bolton 1 Reading 2

Chelsea vs. Portsmouth - the luckiest team of the season (Chelsea) meets a vastly improved Pompey team. The team from the South Coast has dangerous speed on top and a physical defense. Moreover, it is coming off a tie against ManU.

Prediction - Chelsea 1 Portsmouth 1

Derby vs. Birmingham - the first tour of the relegation battle. Derby needs to win these sort of matches to keep its head above water. So do the Brummies.

Prediction - Derby 2 Birmingham 2

West Ham vs. Wigan - two clubs that almost were relegated last year but only Alan Curbishley is coaching for this job. He'll keep it. For a few more weeks.

Prediction - West Ham 1 Wigan 0

Everton vs. Blackburn - The Liverpoodlians have made two major additions this week with the Portuguese dynamo Manuel Fernandes and a Nigerian striker Yakubu Ayegbeni. This was money well spent and Everton will be a much improved squad because of these additions (albeit $40M poorer) ... but the improvement begins the next week. Blackburn usually manages to scrape out points where it's a minor underdog.

Prediction - Everton 1 Blackburn 2

Sunday

Middlesbrough vs. Newcastle - Big Sam can coach and Michael Owen will score sooner or later. 'Boro just sold its best striker.

Prediction - Middlesbrough 0 Newcastle 2

Manchester United vs. Tottenham - Martin Jol was just given a vote of confidence while ManU just lost a derby. Both squads have had some tough luck ... but Darren Bent can change the game in Spurs' favor. If he sits with a minor knock, ManU should be a favorite to get on a roll.

You will also find a review about Carlo Ancelotti's excellent book on tactics. There are excerpts from a factual novel about Gaetano Scirea along with Francesco Totti's humorous yet historical guidebook on ancient Rome.

6. Featured Review

Image credit: Nation Books.

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